Tipping point v. actual results

I speculated we may be at a tipping point on public opinion towards gay marriage. Diane Silver, who writes a column titled Political IQ for Between the Lines, says the tide isn't turning quite yet. I will first note that I talked about public opinion (as measured in polls) and she is talking about actual political results. She says those results are still hard to come by and gives these reasons:

* We still don't have much political muscle and don't know how to flex it well. The Calif. marriage ban showed that clearly. Gay community centers aren't designed for that and are only in a few large communities. We're up against churches who are spread widely and who have mastered the political message (even if they aren't supposed to).

* In spite of recent gains in the polls we're still well behind in changing hearts and minds. It will still take a great deal of grass-roots effort (much more than we've seen so far) until people know in their guts that gays are not the predators the Fundies claim we are.

A northwest Iowa recently did a story about Lee and Tony planning to take advantage of their new ability to marry. Alas, the two men are still fearful. The tide will have turned when future articles give Lee and Tony's last names and the city in which they live.